


home is where the heart is

by Hanaboosa



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, idk what else to tag this, im nervous to be posting abt my stardew oc...idk, tags to be added as it continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-12-16 01:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanaboosa/pseuds/Hanaboosa
Summary: “Are you sure you really wanna do this?” Cai leans against the passenger door of my Jetta, his eyebrows furrowed. “Pelican Town is far from Zuzu, y’know. And I get that you miss him, we all miss him, Nova, but isn’t this a bit excessive?”





	1. 1

“Are you sure you really wanna do this?” Cai leans against the passenger door of my Jetta, his eyebrows furrowed. “Pelican Town is far from Zuzu, y’know. And I get that you miss him, we all miss him, Nova, but isn’t this a bit excessive?” 

I don’t answer, instead focusing my attention on trying to force my final box into the Tetris style set up in my trunk. After a few pitiful seconds of trying - and failing - I peek my head over the top of the trunk, leveling Cai with a glare.

“Stop talking and help me with this.” Then, pointedly, I add, “please.” 

“You can’t just run away from the problem, Noemi.” Cai rounds the side of the car, bumping me aside with his hip as he flawlessly pushes the box into the space I’d been failing at previously. “You’re gonna have to deal with it. It’s not good to keep it pent up inside.” 

“Still don’t understand how you went from bullying me to giving me life advice.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. We both know the reason-” I slam the trunk closed, effectively cutting him off. “Noemi. You’re one of my best friends, you don’t have to do this.” He places a hand on my shoulder carefully, “You don’t have to leave us.” 

“I’m sorry, Cai.” I shake him off of me. “Let Jess know that I said bye.” 

“Text us?” 

“Yeah. Sure.” Cai watches me pile into the driver’s seat. He continues watching me as I set the car into drive and pull away, as I leave Zuzu City - and my previous life - behind. 

I feel a pang of loneliness in my heart, deep and hurting, and then I turn the radio up.

 

o0o

 

Pelican Town is a four hour drive from my old neighborhood in Zuzu City. The whole time, I’m listening and re-listening to a mixtape made four years ago. Wordlessly, I tap my fingers against the steering wheel, watching carefully for the exit I need to take off of the freeway.

What Cai said keeps replaying in my mind. He’s right - I can’t run from the problem. It’s something that hangs over me no matter where I go, something I carry with me, right in my heart. It’s the missing piece that kills me every time I think about the person who stole it from me. 

When I decide I’ve had enough of thinking, I turn up Blondie and drown out the sick feeling in my stomach.

 

o0o

 

The Valley air is fresh, clean. When I step out of my Jetta, I take a deep breath of the country air, sighing it out in a quiet huff. This was my new home now. Pelican Town. Stardew Valley. 

“You’re the new farmer!” A red-head woman greets me at the road, grinning widely. “I’m Robin! Welcome, um…”

“Noemi Everett-Bonwitt.” I shift the bag I’m holding into my left hand, holding out my newly-freed right one. “You can call me Nova. Noemi’s just fine too.”

“Wonderful! Everyone in the valley was getting a little antsy when we heard someone new was moving into town - you must understand, no one new has moved in for years.” Her grin dims to a warm smile. “But I’m sure everyone here is ready to welcome you with open arms.” 

“Thank you…” 

I end up chatting with Robin while she helps me carry my boxes to the abandoned farmland. She tells me a bit about my grandfather.

“He was a kind man, you know. Always brought my family strawberries in the summer.” She sets a box down on the porch, sighing as she wipes sweat away from her forehead. “The whole valley mourned when he died.” Robin looks back on me. “You look a little familiar, if I’m being honest.”

“I visited occasionally,” I shrug, setting the final box by the one Robin put down. “Didn’t really talk a lot to the people in the valley though.” Robin hums in reply. 

“That reminds me, the mayor is waiting for you to go and visit once you get settled in. Take your time.” Robin waves. “I gotta head back home now, but you should come meet my family sometime!” 

A smile makes it’s way to my face, and I wave back, “Of course! Thanks for helping me out, Robin!” 

Maybe life out here wouldn’t be so lonely after all. 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee. Coffee would be great right now, but alike my brush, my coffee machine is inside one of those damned boxes. Boxes. Box. I giggle to myself at how odd the word sounds.

 

Sunshine, bright and demanding, pulls me out of dreamless sleep.

Instead of hopping up to greet the day, I languidly stretch out, pressing the tips of my toes to the cooler parts of my mattress. My comforter still smells of my apartment in Zuzu. It makes me think of cinnamon-scented candles, of loud laughter, of --

I throw the blanket off of my body, forcing myself to sit up. Today’s schedule was simple - unpack and make this cottage feel like home, eat a light lunch, go out to Pelican Town to meet everyone. Maybe take a moment to scout out the plot of land, but that could wait until tomorrow.

I press my feet against the cool wood floor, sighing contentedly as I attempt to run a hand through my matted hair. My brush - it must be in one of the cardboard boxes pressed up against the wall. In my haste to get away, I didn’t bother to mark the boxes with any sort of indication of what could be inside. The only thing I’d unpacked was my comforter and a pillow, which I’d used last night.

Coffee. Coffee would be great right now, but alike my brush, my coffee machine is inside one of those damned boxes. Boxes. Box. I giggle to myself at how odd the word sounds.

I’m procrastinating. With another sigh, I push myself onto my feet, stretching my hands high above my head.

This was going to take forever. I was not excited.

 

o0o

 

After an hour or so of going through boxes, finding places for various appliances and knick-knacks, and brewing coffee (god, so much coffee. I don’t have sugar, which made it awful, but I lived.) I finally have my new home in some sort of state of livability. There’s just three boxes left.

I pull the box closest to me in front of my folded legs, using my letter-opener to cut through the tape keeping the contents inside. The first thing I pull out is a picture book, one I’d made as a sort of scrapbook-like memorial to my senior year of high school. The front cover has argyle patterns, and there’s an indent with a picture of me and another posing together. In the picture, I’m practically glowing, radiating from the feeling of love and being loved. My face is pink, my blonde hair is wild - was it windy that day? I can’t really remember - and my blue eyes are shining.

Beside me is a boy with dark skin, his arm around my waist. His brown eyes aren’t on the camera at all, no, they’re locked onto me, with a stare so fond I can feel the sweetness from it pulsing through my being.

I shouldn’t open the album. Just looking at the cover, at the picture, that’s already made my heart ache. I ignore my gut and pull the cover open carefully, like I’m afraid it’ll break and I won’t have this precious item anymore. The first page has three pictures with descriptions penned out beside them.

The first picture isn’t taken by me but by a friend. It’s me, posing mid-cheer, pom-poms high in the air. Behind my form, a gridball field is visible.

_Me cheering Quinn on - go Tomcats!_

The next picture was taken after the game. A sweaty boy and I press together for a picture, me kissing his cheek.

 _After the big win! Knew you could do it!!_ _♡_

The third picture is of me and a blonde girl. If you didn’t know us, you’d think we were sisters. She isn’t looking at the camera, instead she’s focused on braiding my hair, her tongue stuck out in concentration. I’m winking at the camera.

_Jess doing my hair! She’s gonna go somewhere with this talent!_

Jess...I can’t help but wonder how she’s doing. I want to call her, I want to hear her voice. I lay a hand on the picture of Jess and I. A part of me wants to take it all back, go back to Zuzu, back to what I know.

I spend too much time flipping through the scrapbook. I think about high school, back to the Gridball games and the lunches spent with friends and the classes and the teachers and Quinn - always Quinn, God -

As I reach the last page, something catches my eye.

A picture I didn’t recognize. I squint as I pull the picture closer to my face in order to inspect it.

It’s me, I realize, fast asleep on Quinn’s shoulder. Quinn’s smiling into the camera, arm wrapped around my sleeping form. This must have been taken at the very end of senior year, I realize, because we’re in my old bedroom at my parent’s house. There are boxes in the background, all of them marked with my loopy handwriting and excited hearts. The handwriting beneath the picture isn’t mine, however. It’s rough chicken-scratch, the i’s are dotted with stars. Quinn.

_Tired after packing up! Can’t wait to start our life together, Princess._

I can’t help the tears that well up in my eyes.

 

o0o

 

Unpacking is finally finished mid-afternoon. Placing my hands on my hips, I admire my handiwork.

My bed is made and decorated with my collection of pillows and blankets. In the corner, a television is set up with my Gamecube hooked up underneath, the controllers wrapped up and placed beside the console. There are fairy lights strung up in the corners of the living room, draping across the ceiling. The rest of my furniture, the more heavy things, those would be delivered tomorrow. I have the rest of the day to explore Pelican Town, meet the townsfolk, and maybe make a few new friends.

I change out of my pajamas and into a button-up flannel shirt and a pair of shorts. I slide my boots on, grab my cellphone and my keys, and make my way out onto my plot of land.

It takes me ten minutes tops to reach the town. I’d gotten a glimpse of it on my way to my new home, but seeing it up close made me giddy. As I’m exploring the new town, I bump into someone.

“Sorry!” I reach out to pat at their shoulder.

“Can you watch where you’re going?” They knock my hand back., and I see it’s some guy that I’ve walked  into. His brown eyes bore into mine, and I flinch.

“So - I’m so sorry, I’m new around here so I was just exploring around and then, I wasn’t paying attention, and while that’s not an excuse I just wanted to give some insight as to why I may have -”

“You talk too much,” he says. “You’re new?”

“That’s right! I’m Noemi.” I try my best to offer a smile. “I moved onto Everett Farm last night.”

“Okay...great. I’m Shane. Do you need anything else?” I shake my head and he pushes past me, muttering something under his breath.

Okay, friends. Might be harder than I thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two...we learn some things about noemi's past in zuzu city!


	3. 2.5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re stupid, Quinn. She’s gonna hex you - “ With these words, Cai wiggled his fingers creepily, raising his eyebrows. “She’s gonna use her - her charged fucking crystals or whatever, and she’s gonna hex you.” Jess bursts out into laughter.

Jessica Avery sighs and watches with feigned interest as her best friend makes light conversation with the weirdest girl she’s ever seen.

The girl in question was Noemi Everett, a quiet girl with blonde hair who was usually too engrossed in whatever non-fiction book she was reading that day. Each day was something new, but she seemed particularly interested in herbal remedies for sicknesses. She typically sat in the back of the classroom, far away from Jessica, who sat in the front, always. She usually didn’t eat at lunch, but sometimes she’d bring a sandwich or a small bag of chips. 

Okay, maybe she wasn’t weird per se. But she was so different from Jessica and what Jessica knew that to her it was weird, unnatural. Who reads boring books like those for  _ fun _ ? 

It was last week when Quinn expressed his interest in her.

“I dunno man,” he said, leaning forward onto the lunch table. “There’s something about her. That’s why you gotta stop fucking with her, bro. I wanna talk to her.” 

Cai had sighed, rolled his eyes, and I had crossed my arms across my chest.

“You’re stupid, Quinn. She’s gonna hex you - “ With these words, Cai wiggled his fingers creepily, raising his eyebrows. “She’s gonna use her - her charged fucking crystals or whatever, and she’s gonna hex you.” Jess bursts out into laughter.

“Yeah, c’mon, Quinny. There are tons of other girls at this school to go after.” 

“Ones who  _ won’t  _ hex you,” Cai adds. 

“I don’t care what y’all say, I’m going to try and talk to her.” Quinn stands and grabs his tray. “Watch. We’re gonna be friends, all four of us.”

“In your dreams, bro!” Cai waves the words off, laughing. “Good luck! Don’t get cursed!” 

This time, it’s Quinn’s turn to roll his eyes, and he makes his way over to her table. Cai and Jessica watch as he grabs her attention, makes a motion to the chair across from hers. Watches as she makes a disgusted face and shakes her head no. Quinn sits anyway.

Jess finds that she’s not too surprised about these events. That’s just how Quinn is - kind down to the core. That’s what she found she liked about him in the first place. That’s what drew her and Cai to him. His everlasting kindness, compassion, and empathy.

Noemi makes a show of ignoring him, even though Jessica can see his mouth moving. She acts like she’s too into whatever she’s reading now, but every so often her eyes flick up to look at her new companion. 

Jessica thought that maybe having this strange girl as a part of their friend group wasn’t as bad as she had previously imagined. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so!   
> hi! new thing here. these 'half-chapters' are designed to give more insight into the backstory of noemi, quinn, jessica, and cai, back in their high school days.   
> i know tuesdays are my usual update days and im sorry ;A; im so swamped with school&work that it's hard to get things done on time. im workin on it, pls be patient  
> also these half-chapters are going to be in third person! just 'cause, i like writing in third person just as much as i like writing in first.


	4. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “‘S okay.” He studies me for a second, before grinning. “Hey, you’re the new farm girl.” He grabs a bag of flour, plopping it into my hands. “I’m Alex, you’ll see me on TV someday. Won’t it be awesome to be able to tell people you knew me?” Alex shrugs. “Nice to meet you.”  
> “I’m Noemi. Wanna remind me why I’ll be seeing you on TV again?” The boy snorts.  
> “‘Cause I’m gonna be the best gridball player you’ve ever seen, Farm Girl.”

I stop by the general store on my way back home. I decide it would be better if I tried meeting people tomorrow - I was already stressed out by the photo album from earlier, but the hostility from Shane just added to it and made it overwhelming. 

The store itself is small. Shelves line the walls and make rows in the once-empty areas of the store. The shelves are full to bursting with various brightly-colored packages - there’s an entire section for seeds, but also for food and baking items, furniture, wallpapers and flooring - everything you could want. I gravitate towards the baking section.

The man who runs the general store seems nice enough, and he strikes up easy conversation as I’m mulling over the sugar and flour. 

“You’re from Zuzu then? I think you and Sam would get along,” he runs a hand through his hair, “he lived in Zuzu too.” 

“Really?” I reach up to grab a bag of flour and my hand bumps into someone else’s. “Oh! I’m sorry, sorry…” I turn to face whoever it is, afraid in part that it could be Shane again. Instead, I meet brown eyes. 

“‘S okay.” He studies me for a second, before grinning. “Hey, you’re the new farm girl.” He grabs a bag of flour, plopping it into my hands. “I’m Alex, you’ll see me on TV someday. Won’t it be awesome to be able to tell people you knew me?” Alex shrugs. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Noemi. Wanna remind me why I’ll be seeing you on TV again?” The boy snorts. 

“‘Cause I’m gonna be the best gridball player you’ve ever seen, Farm Girl.” 

My gut twists.

“And when I get to championships as the leader and MVP of the national team, I’ll be sure to shout Pelican Town out. Y’know, during my whole speech about my humble beginnings and whatever.” 

“Don’t think you’ll be the  _ best  _ I’ve ever seen,” I can’t freak out. Not here. “But I’m sure you could be close...someday.” My body’s already started the process of a breakdown. My voice wavers as I say, “Oh, I gotta go finish unpacking. Thanks, nice to meet you Alex.” The lie tastes bitter. I nab a bag of sugar and slide past, paying Pierre with shaking hands. 

I run all the way back home.

 

o0o 

 

My tiny house feels comforting as I sink unceremoniously onto my bed, pulling the covers around my shoulders. A cup of coffee sits on the floor by my feet, full of sugar. I stare blankly at the wooden walls as Top 40’s songs play from my phone. The photo album - the cursed fucking photo album - that rests in my lap, left open to the last page with the selfie Quinn took, with the messy handwriting. I’m running my fingers over the indentation, over the word “Princess”. What was Quinn feeling when he wrote that? Excited? Nervous? Happy? Numbness spreads from my head to my heart, to my limbs, to my soul.

I’m trying so hard to move on. I really am, but then things like that happen, and I’m sent back into this whirl of memories and emptiness. Of Quinn. Of how happy we were, how happy we could have been. I close the photo album and hug it to my chest.

“Wish you were here,” I say to the empty room. “Wish you could be here with me, Quinn.” 

I wonder if, he was here right now, what would he say? Do? He’d drag me out of the house to meet all of the neighbors, worried that I relapsed into the silent me, the me that refused to even look at others. The me he saved myself from.

I’ll go to meet the neighbors tomorrow. For now, though, I chug the coffee and curl up on my side, hugging the album. My mind goes blank as I fall asleep, dreaming of Quinn and warmth and happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow! we uh, we finally meet alex! noemi freaks out a little! we get to see some of quinn's personality aside from descriptions. ]  
> i know this is short, i'm trying ;w;

**Author's Note:**

> wao!! my first ever time talking about my stardew valley oc...this is nervewracking ;; 
> 
> hi!! u can find me on twitter @amanogawas and on tumblr @ hanabusa-kokoro !


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